New global assessment examines air pollutants falling on the Earth’s surface New global assessment examines air pollutants falling on the Earth’s surface We sat down with Richard Artz, environmental scientist at NOAA’s Air Resources Laboratory, to learn more about the new global assessment of air pollutants that fall to the earth in precipitation and in dry form. The assessment is available online in the journal Atmospheric Environment. Read more
'Virtual explorers' invited to the depths of the Gulf of Mexico on NOAA expedition 'Virtual explorers' invited to the depths of the Gulf of Mexico on NOAA expedition Live webcasting from the ocean floor begins Saturday through the end of the month From April 12-30, members of the public are invited to join NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer as it explores deep-sea habitats in the Gulf of Mexico. “Virtual ocean explorers” will have the chance to see canyons, deep-sea coral communities, and shipwrecks dating to the early 1800s via live video transmitted from the deep seafloor. Read more
NOAA and partners release first federal ocean acidification strategic research plan NOAA and partners release first federal ocean acidification strategic research plan Interagency Working Group on Ocean Acidification outlines multi-disciplinary research on impacts Today, NOAA and its partners released the first federal strategic plan to guide research and monitoring investments that will improve our understanding of ocean acidification, its potential impacts on marine species and ecosystems, and adaptation and mitigation strategies. Read more
Carbon dioxide in the tropical Pacific Ocean is increasing faster than expected Carbon dioxide in the tropical Pacific Ocean is increasing faster than expected Ocean acidity is also rising rapidly New NOAA research has revealed unprecedented changes in ocean carbon dioxide in the tropical Pacific Ocean over the last 14 years, influencing the role the oceans play in current and projected global warming and ocean acidification. Natural variability has dominated patterns in ocean CO2 in this region, but observations now show human activity contributes to increasing CO2 levels. Read more
Heat-trapping gas concentrations top 400 ppm, two months earlier than last year Heat-trapping gas concentrations top 400 ppm, two months earlier than last year NOAA's Mauna Loa Observatory tracks continual rise in greenhouse gases Over the last five days beginning on March 16, 2014, carbon dioxide levels have surpassed 400 parts per million at NOAA’s Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii. This is nearly two months earlier than last year when the concentration of this greenhouse gas was first recorded above 400 parts per million on May 9, at the historic NOAA observatory. We caught up with James Butler, Ph.D., Director of NOAA’s Global Monitoring Division, to ask about what it means that we reached this milestone earlier than last year. To track carbon dioxide concentrations daily click here. Read more
Serving up climate data in useable formats Serving up climate data in useable formats NOAA and CIRES scientists, collaborators improve climate data access With NOAA funding, Ben Koziol, a CIRES researcher in NOAA’s Earth System Research Laboratory, and partners, have built OpenClimateGIS, a new tool that will aid resource managers and others in the interpretation of climate data at the regional level. Today, Koziol and his collaborator, University of Michigan professor Richard Rood, will attend the launch of the White House’s Climate Data Initiative. Their new software, still in development, is showing promise for serving many sectors, including storm water planning (sewers get overwhelmed by intense rainfalls, which are on the rise in some areas) and emergency planning around dangerous heat waves (also on the rise in some areas). Read more
When smoke is in the air, all eyes turn to this NOAA weather model 26Aug2020 Read more NOAA's HRRR-Smoke model may still be designated as experimental, but when wildfires are burning, many count on it for smoke forecasts. Read more
NOAA unveils 10-year roadmap for tackling ocean, Great Lakes acidification 29Jul2020 Read more Read more
Arctic melt season puts focus on sea ice forecasts 21Aug2020 Read more Improving Arctic sea ice forecasts is a high priority for NOAA, as indigenous communities, fisheries, ecotourism, oil and gas industries, shipping concerns, wildlife managers and scientists need better information in a region that is rapidly shifting from a reliable frozen ice cap to an open-water ocean. Check out an animation of this summer's Arctic snow and ice melt. Read more
Aviation is responsible for 3.5 percent of climate change, study finds 3Sep2020 Read more The study evaluated all of the aviation industry’s contributing factors to climate change, including emissions of carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxide, and the effect of contrails and contrail cirrus – short-lived clouds created in jet engine exhaust plumes at aircraft cruise altitudes that reflect sunlight during the day and trap heat trying to escape at night. Read more
Ocean gliders head to sea to improve hurricane forecasts 15Jul2020 Read more NOAA’s hurricane gliders are heading to sea this week off the coasts of Puerto Rico, the Gulf of Mexico and the eastern U.S. to collect data that scientists will use to improve the accuracy of hurricane forecast models. Read more